The world was burning.Not literally. But for Leigh Bennett, it felt like the air was singed with shame, and every screen she passed flashed back her own face mouth parted, eyes glazed, nails clawing into a body the world now knew far too intimately.The video had gone viral.Overnight, she'd become a public spectacle. Again.Not for her ideas. Not for her business. But for the curve of her thigh and the desperate, breathless moans that were supposed to be private.Captured without her knowledge. Leaked with precision.Damian's penthouse had been compromised.By Miranda.By Roman.By whoever else had decided she was a character in their war.And now, here she was.In the backseat of a black SUV, headed north. Into silence. Into hiding.Damian sat beside her, stone-faced.Neither had spoken in hours.Not since she stormed out of her apartment, paparazzi shouting her name like a curse. Not since he shoved her into the SUV and told her to *trust him.*She had.She still wasn't sure why. They arrived at the cabin after midnight.It sat on a lake, tucked deep into the Catskills. Quiet. Isolated. Impossibly luxurious.He hadn't just planned this as a panic retreat.He had been preparing.That terrified her.As she walked through the foyer, Damian didn't speak.He poured whiskey. Sat by the fire. Waited.Finally, she broke."Was it you?"He looked up. "What?""The footage. The leak. Tell me it wasn't you trying to protect me in some twisted way."His eyes burned. "Leigh, if I ever weaponized your body for sympathy, I'd put a bullet in my own skull.""Then how did they get it?"He swallowed. "There was a security cam in the penthouse library. I forgot it was active. My team was supposed to wipe the footage weekly.""So you're saying your own house betrayed me?""No." He stood. "I betrayed you. By not protecting you well enough."She shook her head."This isn't about protection anymore, Damian. This is about control. About me being collateral damage in your goddamn redemption story."He stepped forward."I stepped away from everything for you.""No. You stepped away because you were done. I just happened to be a convenient exit strategy.""Don't."She turned."I don't know who I'm angrier at Roman, Miranda, the media… or myself for ever thinking I was more than a chapter in your narrative."Silence.Heavy. Immovable.Then, soft."You're the whole book, Leigh."She laughed. Bitter. Beautiful."You always say the right things. And I always fall for them."Then she walked to the door.And stepped into the cold. The night was frigid.She stood by the lake, arms wrapped tight around herself, hating the ache that bloomed in her chest.She wasn't just humiliated.She was violated.She'd fought so hard to be seen as more than a scandal.And now?She was *the* scandal.Again. Damian found her ten minutes later.He didn't speak.Just took off his coat and wrapped it around her.She didn't fight it."Why do they hate us so much?" she whispered."They don't hate us," he replied. "They hate what we survived."She turned.Saw the man behind the empire.Broken. Real.And for the first time in days, she softened. Back inside, she sat by the fire while he made tea.He didn't touch her.Didn't even sit near her.Until she spoke."I need to know everything."He paused."No secrets."He nodded. Sat.And he told her.About the offshore accounts.The favors owed.The enemies made.Roman's sister.Miranda's obsession.The things he had done to keep his family from collapsing.And when he finished, she said nothing.She simply stood.Took off her sweater.Pulled her leggings down.And climbed into his lap."Make me forget," she whispered."No," he replied.He touched her slowly."Make you remember."Their kiss was quiet.Desperate, but not rushed.His hands mapped her.Her body responded like it had missed his fingerprints.She moaned into his mouth as he pressed her down on the fur rug, her thighs parted, his mouth exploring her until she gasped and arched into him.He didn't rush.Not this time.This wasn't about lust.It was about reclaiming.He made love to her like she was a sacred ritual.And when she shattered around him, it wasn't shame she felt.It was power. Later, as they lay tangled, a knock came.A messenger.Unmarked envelope.Inside: a single photo.Roman.Standing beside a man Leigh had never seen.And in the background?A blueprint.Of the cabin.He knew where they were.And now the game was truly beginning.
The cabin was no longer safe.Not after the photo.Not after the silence that followed its arrival.Damian paced the living room, barefoot on the marble, every muscle in his body taut with fury. The fire crackled behind him, casting dancing shadows on the wall but Leigh barely noticed. Her eyes were fixed on the blueprint.Not just of the cabin.But of the underground level.A space she didn't even know existed."You didn't tell me there was a basement," she said softly.Damian didn't turn."I didn't want you to think I planned for war.""But you did."His jaw clenched. "Because I knew war would come."She let the silence stretch before whispering, "Then take me down there."vThe hidden staircase was behind the wine cellar.Dimly lit. Reinforced.When they stepped into the underground bunker, Leigh's breath caught. It was pristine like something out of a James Bond film. Multiple screens. Satellite uplinks. Emergency generators. Weapons. Medical kits."Damian... what is this?""My insurance.""For what?"He turned to her."For when the people I betrayed finally decide I've run out of luck."She wanted to laugh. Or cry. Or scream.Instead, she touched the cold metal table in the center of the room and whispered, "And me? Where do I fit in here?"He walked over. Took her hand."You're the only reason I still want to fight." They spent the night downstairs.Not hiding.Planning.Miranda and Roman had crossed the line.But Damian?He was done playing defense.He outlined every connection Miranda had to Cain Industries. Every off-book transaction Roman was involved in. Every breadcrumb they'd left over the years.And Leigh brilliant, fierce Leigh connected the dots faster than he could talk."You think they'll stop with this?" she asked."No.""Then let's end it." By morning, the bunker had become a war room.They contacted a private investigator. An ethical hacker.And Leigh?She began writing.A press statement.A confession.A controlled release of the truth on her terms."I'm not hiding anymore," she told Damian."I'll stand beside you," he said."No. You'll stand *behind* me. It's my name on the line. My voice they tried to silence."He hesitated.Then nodded."Say the word, and I burn it all down." That afternoon, Leigh walked outside.The air was crisp. Clean. Sharp like truth.She was alone until she wasn't.Roman stood at the edge of the trees.Not sneaking.Waiting.She didn't flinch."You're getting sloppy," she said.Roman smirked. "Or maybe I wanted you to find me.""You leaking the video wasn't enough?""Actually, it was Miranda who pulled the trigger. I just handed her the gun."Leigh's nails dug into her palm."What do you want?"He stepped closer. Too close."I want you to remember that every woman who sleeps with a Cain ends up ruined. Just ask my sister."She slapped him.Hard.Roman blinked.Then smiled."Fiery. I like that.""I'm not afraid of you," she said."You should be."She didn't back down."I've already been humiliated. Exposed. Betrayed. You have no idea what a woman's capable of once she has nothing left to lose."Roman studied her.Then, to her surprise, he backed away."I'll see you soon, Leigh."And just like that he disappeared into the trees. That night, Damian found her again outside.Only this time, she spoke first."I'm going back to the city."He didn't argue."Are you coming with me?""I'll follow your lead."She smiled faintly."You better keep up."He stepped closer."Tonight, I just want to hold you. No war. No revenge. Just. us."She nodded.But her eyes burned with a different fire.Because now it wasn't just about love.It was about legacy.And she wasn't afraid to fight dirty. Back in the bunker, her phone buzzed.A message.From an unknown number. "The next leak won't be so flattering. Choose wisely. Leigh stared at the screen.Then deleted it.And smiled.Because Miranda had just made a fatal mistake.She underestimated a woman who had nothing left to hide.